New Orleans Pelicans: 3 storylines to watch against the New York Knicks

New Orleans Pelicans: The same vision for the future

The New Orleans Pelicans and the New York Knicks both started writing new chapters of their history this season.

The two teams are embarking on the same journey in different lanes. It is evident that both franchises harbor high hopes for the future, starting with making the playoffs as early as this year.

Neither the Pels nor the Knicks have time to lose. The Pelicans, simply put, do not have a storied past or a culture of winning. The Knicks, as I wrote, were struggling to swim back up the stream—their last notable playoff year was in 1999.

Both teams sought to remedy their malaises largely through bringing in a new head coach. The Pels incorporated Stan Van Gundy, while the aforementioned Thibodeau gained a New York State of mind.

The results so far are generally encouraging, maybe a bit more so for the Knicks. Van Gundy had a rougher start to the season with many, myself included, not overly convinced by him.

I thought Van Gundy took too long to establish an identity for the team. That’s not to say that the Pels have a surefire brand right now, but they look more developed than in February, for instance, especially on offense. Down the other end of the floor, Van Gundy has surprisingly failed to imprint his defensive ethos on the team.

One might read what I wrote and think that it’s natural for a team in the NBA to look better towards the end of the season than at the start. Sure, to some extent, but there are also plenty of cases where that does not happen.

The Knicks have played well since the start of the season. Thibodeau took a lot less making the Knicks play the way his teams play. He deserves real credit for that and he is a real contender for Coach of the Year.

When the Pelicans and the Knicks face each other on Wednesday night, it will be a game with many parallels between both teams. But the most imperative thing on their minds will just be a win in order to stay around the playoff picture.